The Malaysian Insight

BARISAN Nasional (BN) will not cooperate with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the upcoming Johor polls.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said this is despite both coalitions working together at the federal level.

MCA is part of BN, which is led by Umno – a Malay-based party that has an acrimonious relationship with Bersatu and PAS, the two lynchpin parties of PN.

Wee said although Johor is a BN stronghold, the coalition will face tough competition from opposition parties.

“Pakatan Harapan (PH), Muda and Warisan are a threat to BN, but we will fight each equally,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“From the point of view of democracy, the emergence of more political parties in our country is not a bad thing.

“It is a healthy political culture, but some political parties will be short-lived. Only elections can prove this.”

He predicted more multi-cornered fights in the polls, following the participation of Muda and Warisan.

These two parties have different representations in giving voices to youth, he added.

He said Muda and Warisan may be unfamiliar to voters, but this does not mean they can be ignored.

“As for their degree of support, it remains to be seen.”

Wee also said PH remains powerful as the opposition pact knows when to provoke the people and agitate issues.

The coalition’s poor performances in the Malacca and Sarawak polls should not be used as a yardstick in facing the Johor polls, he added.

PH performed badly in both Malacca and Sarawak, with PKR failing to win any of its contested seats.

“Anwar Ibrahim has lost credibility because there have been (many) false alarms (when he said he has the numbers to take over the government).

“But, PH’s failure is not just Anwar’s problem, but other PH leaders’ as well.

“They cannot put all the blame on Dr Mahathir Mohamad. PH did fulfil its manifesto, so it is jointly responsible.” – February 3, 2022.